Army of Virginia

Last stand of the Army of Virginia, commanded by General Lee by Edwin Forbes

Active| June 26, 1862 - September 12, 1862
Country|  United States of America
Branch|  United States Army
Type| Field Army
Engagements| Battle of Cedar Mountain
Second Battle of Bull Run
Commanders
Notable
commanders| Maj. Gen. John Pope

Military unit

The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E. Lee.

## History[edit]

Gen. Pope's headquarters during the battle of Cedar Mountain

The Army of Virginia was constituted on June 26, 1862, by General Orders Number 103, from four existing departments operating around Virginia: Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont's Mountain Department, Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell's Department of the Rappahannock, Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks's Department of the Shenandoah, and Brig. Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis's brigade from the Military District of Washington. Maj. Gen. John Pope commanded the new organization, which was divided into three corps of over 50,000 men. Three corps of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac later were added for combat operations.

Radical Republicans in Congress and the Cabinet saw the Army of Virginia as taking the lead in widening the goals of the war. The senior officers of the Army were stronger advocates of the abolition of slavery and the southern way of life and had a smaller proportion of West Point graduates than the contemporary Army of the Potomac.[1]

Banks's corps of the Army of Virginia fought against Stonewall Jackson at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, gaining initial advantage, but was defeated by a Confederate counterattack led by A.P. Hill.

The entire army was soundly defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run by Jackson, Longstreet, and Lee, and withdrew to the defensive lines of Washington, D.C. On September 12, 1862, the units of the Army of Virginia were merged into the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Virginia was never reconstituted.

## Commander[edit]

* Major General John Pope (June 26 - September 12)

## Organization[edit]

The first three corps were given numeric designations that overlapped with those in the Army of the Potomac. They were redesignated as shown for the Maryland Campaign and later.

* I Corps, Army of Virginia; commanded by Franz Sigel (this corps had been the Mountain Department under John Frémont; it eventually became the XI Corps, Army of the Potomac)
* II Corps, Army of Virginia; commanded by Nathaniel Banks (formerly known as V Corps and Department of the Shenandoah; later known as XII Corps, Army of the Potomac)
* III Corps, Army of Virginia; commanded by Irvin McDowell (formerly known as I Corps and Department of the Rappahannock; reverted to I Corps, Army of the Potomac)
* Cavalry Brigade, commanded by George Bayard

The following corps were attached for operations during the Northern Virginia Campaign:

* III Corps, Army of the Potomac; commanded by Samuel P. Heintzelman
* V Corps, Army of the Potomac; commanded by Fitz John Porter
* IX Corps, Army of the Potomac; commanded by Jesse L. Reno
* Reynolds's Division, commanded by John F. Reynolds (the Pennsylvania Reserves)

## Major battles[edit]

* Battle of Cedar Mountain – Pope (Only Banks's II Corps was involved in the fighting)
* Second Battle of Bull Run – Pope
* Battle of Chantilly – Pope (although fought mostly by Army of the Potomac troops, elements of Pope's force were engaged)

## References[edit]

1. ^ Matsui, John H. (June 2012), "War in Earnest: The Army of Virginia and the Radicalization of the Union War Effort, 1862", Civil War History, 58 (2): 185–187

* Boatner, Mark M. III, The Civil War Dictionary: Revised Edition, David McKay Company, Inc., 1984, ISBN 0-679-73392-2.
* Battles and Leaders of the Civil War

## External links[edit]

* Army Organization during the Civil War
* Opposing Forces at Second Bull Run

Formations of the Union Army

Independent
Departments|

* Department of the East: District of Central New York
* District of Massachusetts
* District of Western New York

* Department of the Pacific: District of Arizona
* District of Humboldt
* District of Oregon
* District of California
* District of Southern California
* District of Utah

* Department of the Potomac

* Department of the South: District of Florida
* District of Hilton Head
* District of North Carolina
* District of Savannah
* Northern District (Charleston)

* Department of Virginia and North Carolina: District of Eastern Virginia
* District of North Carolina

Middle Military
Division|

* Middle Department: Department of Rappahannock
* Department of Shenandoah
* Mountain Department
* District of Baltimore
* District of Eastern Shore

* Department of Pennsylvania: Department of the Monongahela
* Department of the Susquehanna

* Department of Washington: District of Alexandria
* District of Saint Mary's
* District of Washington
* District of Annapolis

* Department of West Virginia: District of Harper's Ferry
* Kanawha District

Military Division
of the
Mississippi|

* Cavalry Corps of the Military Division of the Mississippi

* Department of the Cumberland: District of the Etowah
* District of Middle Tennessee
* District of Northern Alabama
* District of West Tennessee

* Department of the Ohio: District of East Tennessee
* Department of Kentucky
* District of Cairo
* District of Western Kentucky

* Northern Department: District of Indiana
* District of Illinois
* District of Michigan

Military Division
of West
Mississippi|

* Department of Arkansas: District of Eastern Arkansas
* District of the Frontier
* District of Little Rock

* Department of the Gulf: District of Baton Rouge and Port Hudson
* District of Carrollton
* District of Key West and Tortugas
* District of La Fourche
* District of West Florida and South Alabama

* Department of Kansas: District of Colorado
* District of Nebraska
* District of North Kansas
* District of South Kansas
* District of Upper Arkansas

* Department of Missouri: District of Central Missouri
* District of North Missouri
* District of Rolla
* District of Saint Louis
* District of Southwest Missouri

* Department of New Mexico: District of Arizona

* Department of the Northwest: District of Iowa
* District of Minnesota
* District of Wisconsin
* District of Dakota

Field Armies|

* Army of Arkansas
* Army of the Border
* Army of the Cumberland
* Army of the Frontier
* Army of Georgia
* Army of the Gulf
* Army of the James
* Army of Kentucky
* Army of the Mississippi
* Army of the Ohio
* Army of the Potomac
* Army of the Shenandoah
* Army of the Southwest
* Army of the Tennessee
* Army of Virginia
* Army of West Mississippi
* Army of West Virginia

Army Corps|

* First Army Corps
* Second Army Corps
* Third Army Corps
* Fourth Army Corps
* Fifth Army Corps
* Sixth Army Corps
* Seventh Army Corps
* Eighth Army Corps
* Ninth Army Corps
* 10th Army Corps
* 11th Army Corps
* 12th Army Corps
* 13th Army Corps
* 14th Army Corps
* 15th Army Corps
* 16th Army Corps
* 17th Army Corps
* 18th Army Corps
* 19th Army Corps
* 20th Army Corps
* 21st Army Corps
* 22d Army Corps
* 23d Army Corps
* 24th Army Corps
* 25th Army Corps
* Cavalry Corps